Since I have a new Glock 21, I am hunting for a good defensive .45acp round. What are your thoughts? Thanks for your opinions and comments.
I'm a fan of Hornady, Federal, and Speer. I carry any of the following with confidence: Hornady Critical Defense 185gr. FTX Hornady Critical Duty 220gr. +P (you can use this too, since it's intended for full-sized/service guns such as your G21) Federal HST 230gr regular or +P. Speer GDHP 185gr. All feed flawlessly and shoot well in my XD-45 Tactical. I've never used any of them for anything but practice (thankfully, I might add), so I can only rely on ballistics numbers and, to a degree, marketing to help make my decision.
Speer Gold Dot 230 gr or Winchester Ranger T 230 gr. I pretty much use Gold Dot and Ranger T in all calibers.
I like the Ranger T 230gr. Mostly because I found a bunch of the LE 50 round boxes at an excellent price before the panic started.
I have some Black Talons left over from the ban, they changed the name to Ranger T and they are not black any more but almost the same.
Federal hst or ranger to 230g4, I personally would choose ranger the mainly because I've seen those rounds punch through car doors, windshields, layers of clothing without a hiccup. Galaxy Note8 Tablet
"The flying ashtray" was actually the speer 200 gr JHP. The lighter weight bullet helped give it the extra wide HP cavity. I still have a bunch of old Corbon 200gr +p that used that bullet. I have a G21 and have over 10,000 rounds through it-mostly IDPA and Bowling Pin shooting. It is EXTREMELY reliable with every bullet profile. I've shot ever weight from 165gr to 250gr through mine without single failure to feed with factory rounds. Mine will even hand cycle a mag full of empty brass. The other beauty of the .45 cap is that an unexpanded .45 HP still makes a big hole. I still carry the old cordon 200s in mine on the rare times its my CCW pistol. IF I ever run out of those it will probably b Ranger Ts
Truth is, if it wasn't for the moderate over penetration risk, I'd be happy with Milspec 230gr ball ammo in the .45. .45 is the only CCW pistol caliber where FMJ is a viable option.
The following are the .45 selections that have been scientifically vetted for law enforcement. Any of the following that operate reliably in your firearm should be good choices: http://www.ar15.com/ammo/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/#.45ACP -john
I roll Barnes tacxp 185gr +P. Before that I ran win ranger 230 +P. Once you see how the Barnes bullet performs, everything else is just fancy ball ammo. Which is still cool, being .45 and all.